CA College Board Reinstates Pledge of Allegiance
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Pledge originally nixed due to 'white nationalism.'
The Pledge of Allegiance is back at a California college's board meetings after it had been ditched over its supposed history of racism.
Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) Board of Trustees President Robert Miller originally ended the recitation of the pledge at meetings because of what he described as its "history steeped in expressions of nativism and white nationalism."
Former instructor Celeste Barber, who expressed her opposition to the decision at a board meeting last week, said Wednesday that there is nothing "white nationalist" about the pledge.
"There's no reference to race, to gender, to ethnicity. It's all-inclusive," Barber said on Fox & Friends.
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As Barber stood at a podium and recited the pledge in protest last Thursday she was interrupted by protesters, Campus Reform reported.
She said Wednesday that she has a right to stand and speak up for the ideals expressed in it on behalf of those who have lost their lives serving the country.
In a statement posted to SBCC's Facebook page Tuesday, though, Board of Trustees President Robert Miller said that "effective immediately," the pledge will be recited at meetings.
"While the College recognizes that there are different opinions about the Pledge of Allegiance, it expects that the First Amendment rights of members of the public to comment at board meetings will be respected," Miller said, according to the statement.
Barber said that she plans on standing and reciting the pledge at the next board meeting on Feb. 14, and that she is "thrilled" about the board's decision.